Part Of Me
by KeepSaying
Summary: Jane and Avery talk before she leaves for university. Drabble.


**A/N:** Sorry for any and all mistakes in this one but I wanted to get it out there before the finale and I didn't even have time to write it in the first place. I want Avery to be exactly who she says she is and I want her to survive the finale and go to university and have a good life. But I do know this show, so I'm bracing myself for more heartache where she (and everyone else) is concerned.

Song is "Ein Teil von mir" by Christina Stürmer, which is the beautiful German song that made me think of this. Give it a listen if you have time :)

* * *

 _„Du bleibst für immer ein Teil von mir, von mir  
auch wenn du gehst  
bleibt immer ein Teil von dir bei mir"_

 _(You'll always be a part of me, even when you go, a part of you will always stay with me)_

„Dinner's ready", Jane calls for Avery, poking her head around the girl's door to find her daughter staring straight ahead, completely lost in thoughts. She slows down when she sees a single tear rolling down her cheek before she sniffs and quickly wipes it away, looking up to shoot her a half-smile.

"I'll be right there", Avery tells her, her voice hoarse with emotions.

She has spent all day packing the last of her things laying around in Jane and Kurt's apartment and it surprised her to see just how much has accumulated in such a short time span. Her essentials were all over the bathroom, with her toothbrush next to theirs, and her sketchbook on the coffee table in the living room. Somehow half of her socks have migrated to Jane's drawer and she has no idea just when she has amassed so many unnecessary things. Small toys Bethany has given her and things she has picked up whenever they did go out of town for a weekend or just wandered through the city.

This place – this apartment, this city and the people in it – have long since begun to feel like home to her. She can't put her finger on a specific moment when it happened but she knows that this is her family and that she loves them – and sometimes hates them – as you only do your family.

"Are you okay?", Jane's voice pulls her out of her thoughts once more and she smiles, a little more sincerely this time, as she moved to the side to make room on her bed for Jane to sit down next to her.

"Yeah", she says and, following a sudden impulse, leans over to rest her head on her mother's shoulder, feeling her head lean against hers in return. "I was just listening to some music and it made me emotional."

"What were you listening to?"

Avery grins up, "It's German so I'm not sure you'd like it." The few songs she has shown her, Jane hasn't enjoyed too much, though she does understand the language. "But it made me think of you… and all of this and how I'm going to miss it."

"Would you show me the song anyway?", Jane asks and Avery nods, pulling out her phone and restarting the song.

They listen to it in silence, each hanging on to their own thoughts. Jane breaks the quiet first, clearing her throat before she starts talking.

"You don't have to go, you know?", she says, already knowing they're just repeating the same conversation they have for the last few weeks.

"Yeah, I do", Avery replies like she always does, "I want to do something with my life. Something good."

"Well", Jane sighs like she always does at this point, feeling more like a mother than ever, "You don't have to go so far. There are places to study medicine in the U.S. You don't have to go to Europe to become a doctor."

"I know." She has been over this in her head so many times, has weighed all the pros and cons and she has always ended up back here. "But I want to. My friends are there, I miss the culture and - no offense - but your health care system kind of sucks."

Jane chuckles, "You'll visit, though, right? And you'll let us visit you?"

"Only if you promise you won't embarrass me in front of my friends", Avery jabs good-heartedly, "So that means no bringing your gun to dinner."

Shaking her head Jane pulls her daughter into a hug, burying her face in her long hair, "I'm really going to miss you."

Avery's arms slowly find her way around her waist and hug her back just as tightly. "I'm really going to miss you, too."

When Jane walks back into the living room – after Avery promised to be there in a second – she drops down next to Kurt on one of the chairs at the kitchen counter, leaning her head against his shoulder and turning into him completely when he pulls an arm around her shoulder gently.

"I booked our flights to Germany for next month", he tells her with a small smile, "Bethany's really excited to be going to Europe. I told her we'd surprise Avery for her birthday."

Jane leans away abruptly, almost falling off the chair as she stares at him wide-eyed, "What?", she almost shouts at him but he just grins because Avery chooses that moment to join them, already taking her seat at the dining table and looking at them expectantly.

"I don't believe you", Jane whispers, her heart beating so much lighter in her chest than it had just a minute ago.

"I love you, too", Kurt laughs quietly, pressing a kiss to her lips before getting up and walking over to Avery to start filling her plate.

Jane watches her husband joke around with her daughter for a little bit before she joins them at the table and they spend this last evening together as a family – talking, laughing, relaxing. She has never felt so proud and sad at the same time.

Guess every parent feels like that when their child sets out into a new, adventurous life of their own choosing, leaving them behind in the process. Guess this is the way it's supposed to be.


End file.
